


A Shrike to Your Sharp and Glorious Thorn

by theandrogynousdragon



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alined gets his comeuppance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Balinor Lives (Merlin), Druids, Enemies to Lovers, Episode: s02e10 Sweet Dreams, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gaius critical, Good Mordred (Merlin), I love Finna so she gets to appear way sooner than canon, I'll change the rating if I need to when that happens, Merlin is gonna get a magical EDUCATION so help me, Pagan Festivals, Paganism, Protective Merlin, Religion, Sort Of, This Is Fine, Vivian makes Kilgharrah regret his life choices, also Vivian has magic, and gets reunited with Hunith, basically I was upset about Vivian being stuck with that enchantment, but Vivian is kind of a snob, but they get to live, he dabbles in blood magic on the weekends, let one character have a happy family gdi, man has Issues, prophecy is malleable, so does Trickler, somewhat darker Merlin eventually, there's an author LOOSE in the word processor, they're not enemies per se
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27923779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theandrogynousdragon/pseuds/theandrogynousdragon
Summary: The thing was, he hadn't meant to. Kiss her, that is. But he had and now she was staring at him like she'd found horse dung on her shoes. "You cannot be my true love," she sneered. Merlin was, honestly, more concerned with the possible removal of his head should her father find out.
Relationships: Balinor/Hunith (Merlin), Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Vivian (Merlin)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 32





	A Shrike to Your Sharp and Glorious Thorn

The thing was, well, he hadn't meant to. Kiss her, that is. He'd just tripped and it sort of... happened. Thank the gods her father wasn't around to see it. And, alright, slapping him was a fair reaction, especially because he hadn't _asked_ or anything, but she didn't need to stare at him like he was something gross she'd just found on her shoe. “It cannot be _you_ ,” she sneered, her pretty face twisted into a scowl.

“I, uh, pardon, m'lady, I meant no offense.”

“You _cannot_ be my true love, I _refuse_.”

“I- what?”

“Merciful _goddess_ , you are an idiot! I'm talking about the enchantment, obviously.”

“Wait, you know about that?” Merlin very carefully did not think about the implications of _him_ being the one to break the love spell. He liked his head where it was, thanks.

“Of course I do, can't you feel it? Love spells have a particularly slippery feel to them.”

A coat of ice calcified around Merlin's heart. “Wh-what, why would I know how m-magic feels?”

Vivian muttered something about Camelot and scowled. “Gods, you're all _wild_ magic, aren't you? No one's taught you _anything_ , have they? Just thought you could come _here_ , of all places, with _no_ direction, _no_ training, _no_ support at _all_! Honestly!” She whirled and crossed the room to rummage in one of her many trunks.

Merlin frowned, a bit offended on Gaius' behalf. And his mother's. “I have a spell book. And Gaius has taught me a few things. I'm not completely helpless, you know.”

She scoffed, waving one perfectly manicured hand. “ _A_ spell book. _One_. And _traitors_ don't count.” She turned, arms piled with books, a small wooden box precariously stacked on top of the pile. “Here,” she dumped the lot into his hands and he immediately set them down on the tea table. She separated three with red covers. “These are your basic spells, beginner texts. These,” she set a blue and one green book aside, “are your intermediate magics. The blue is mostly for illusions, and the green is nature magic.”

“Illusions?”

“Turning invisible, creating mirages, that sort of thing.” She plucked an especially thick white book from the remaining pile. “Now _this_ is your basic healing spells, and the yellow is the trickier healing. You'll be needing those, I expect, if you wish to continue living here.” A brown book with a sword etched into the cover was placed on top of the others. “These are your combat magics, which includes basic wards. Your more extensive wards are found here,” she tapped another brown book, this one with an elaborate etching of a tower shield on it. “And includes instructions on warding a physical space, not just a person.” She hesitated minutely before indicating the last one, a black book with an engraving of an open hand cradling a star in the palm. “This one concerns what is considered “dark” magic. That means necromancy, time magic, anything that removes a person's will or sense of self, blood magic, even a few healing rituals.”

Merlin squirmed a bit, uncomfortable. “I can... slow, or stop time, temporarily, at least, on instinct. Is that, um. Is that... bad?”

Her eyes went wide, “oh, no! No, that's not... if it's instinctive... when I say time magic, I mean something like sending a person back in time before their own birth, not nudging at the flow of time a little.”

* * *

She swept all of the books into a leather bag that seemed, surely, too small for its contents and handed it to him. “Here you are.” She handed him the wooden box separately. “This is so you can write letters to people without sending a messenger.” Merlin decided not to tell her that he was too poor for a messenger. “I'll send you a letter when I arrive in Rheged. We'll get you a proper tutor yet.”

Merlin hefted the bag onto his shoulder, dithering a little. “You know, if I get caught with these, I'll be killed.”

The grin Vivian shot him was a little sharp, but genuine. “Better not get caught, then, bird-boy.” And she swept out of the room with all the grace of a queen. 

* * *

(Destiny _twisted_ , just a little.) 


End file.
